IPOB: Jonathan Berates FG Over Deployment of Military for Show of Force

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – The immediate past President Goodluck Jonathan has faulted the plan by the Federal Government (FG) to extend the deployment of Military (Operation Crocodile Smile), for show of force, to the South South and South West zones of the country.

The criticism was contained in a Facebook post by Jonathan’s aide on new Media Reno Omokri.

“Nigeria is no longer under military rule. In a democracy, you separate the military from the police. The military is not meant to fight criminality within a nation because they are trained to fight a nation’s external enemies.

“It is the police that are trained to fight crime internally. When the military starts doing the job of the police and starts fighting or doing what they call a ‘show of force’, the effect will not be to reduce crime. The effect will be to intimidate people” the former President warned.

The former President equally berated the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, for alleging that the activities of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) started because he lost the 2015 election.

“The insinuations in the press conference given by Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, on Sunday, accusing the opposition of sponsoring the IPOB and the fact that he mentioned that Nnamdi Kanu preached Nigerian unity during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan is another clear indication that the present administration has not left propaganda mode for proper agenda mode two and a half year into their tenure.

“If the government, in which Lai Mohammed serves, knows which opposition members are sponsoring IPOB, then they should identify them, arrest them and then prosecute them Jonathan challenged.

The post said it was baffling if the Senate President Bukola Saraki, who is a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress APC, could be said to be a sponsor of IPOB since he had come out to say the proscription of the group was illegal.

While commending the South-East Governors for their efforts in restoring peace, Jonathan challenged further that Alhaji Mohammed had no moral right to cast aspersions as he has once criticized him for declaring Boko Haram a terrorist group.

“It is our suspicion that Lai Mohammed is talking from history seeing as he criticized the Jonathan government for banning Boko Haram in a statement he released on June 10, 2013, even though the Jonathan government had gone through due process before proscribing that murderous sect. Perhaps Lai Mohammed thinks everybody is like him and those he represents” Jonathan said.

He cautioned the Information Minister to avoid propaganda in discharge of the responsibility of his office.